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Technology set to drive changes [National, The (United Arab Emirates)]

(National, The (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The worldwide movie production and distribution market now generates about US$90 billion each year. But one of the driving factors behind this industry is the advancement of technology, according to IBISWorld, a market research firm. Here is where the internet is helping create some of the biggest high-tech changes:
Online Streaming
Many sites stream movies online, although Netflix.com does this and funds new original programming. The Square, a documentary about the protests in Tahrir Square, is one of Netflix's projects and premiered exclusively on the site this year instead of in cinemas. It has already won numerous accolades, including the People's Choice Documentary Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and The Square is also nominated for an Academy Award.

Online Distribution
The director Jessica Habie, whose latest film follows an imprisoned Palestinian artist, is closely watching sites such as Distrify, which calls itself "the future of online film distribution and marketing". Ms Habie notes that online platforms such as these help her peers rent, sell and otherwise share their movies to the public through sites such as Facebook. "It helps me being in between this grassroots, art [space] and trying to bridge the mainstream film industry," says Ms Habie. "It could be a dynamic way of sharing media and a way that artists keep control of the project."
* Neil Parmar
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